DEN STARs in the News: Eileen Malick

The prestigious Governor’s Technology Awards were presented to honorees at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) in Richmond. On behalf of Governor Bob McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling presented the awards to a distinguished group of Virginia government entrants, including state and local government, universities and DEN STAR Eileen Malick’s Atlee High School: Innovative Use of Technology in Education: Scratch and LEGO WeDo for High School.

The LEGO® Education WeDo robotics kit is normally ear-marked as an elementary school product, and Scratch was developed by MIT for young children to be able to program, but the combination of the two can tap the interest of Computer Science students at the high school level. The new Science Standards of Learning in Virginia indicate students must have an understanding of probe ware, sensor, and accumulate data. Computer Science is also changing where it emerges as the foundation of STEM. IB Computer Science is changing from group 5 math to group 4 experimental science in August 2012 and AP computer science is piloting a new course called AP Computer Science: Principles. The combination of LEGO WeDo and Scratch will not only meet these new curricular requirements, but also provide authentic experiments for our 21st Century Workforce.